Pneumatic wheel.



No. 628,552. Paented .Buly H, i899.

\ J. E. THBHTN J. P. LEA.

4 PNUEWTRC WHEEL.

(Application flied Feb. '28, 1899.) (No Muriel- 3 sheeis-shea l.

can'

c.' E J fdc l WHNESSE un. 628,562. Patented my u, |899; IJ. E. Tnnmma s..L P. LEA.

PNEUWIATIC WHEEL.

(Application lie'd Feb. 28, 1899.) A

(No Model.)

WHNESSES. lNvENTQs.

3 Shania-Sheet 2.

No. 628,562. Paented luly Il, |899.

' J. E. THHNTN & J. P. LEA.

PNEUMATBC WHEEL.

. (Appliggtion filed Fevb. 28, 1899.)

, L v (No Mode Y 3 Sheds-Sheet 3.

, UNITED STATES Y,

PATENT OEEICEQ .rol-1N EDWARD 'r1-IonNToN,.oF AL'rniNcnAM, AND JAMESPoLLAnD LEA,

or MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

PNEUMATic WHEEL.

" snEcIEIcAfrIo'N forming part of Letters Patent ivo. eeasea'dated July11, 1899.

i l Application fildebrnary 28,1899. Serial No. 707,181. (No modell V Toall whom. `it 71mg/ concern:

',of Lancaster, England, subjects of theQneen 'of Great Britain, haveinvented certain new ,and useful Improvements in Pneumatic .,l/Vheels,of which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of wheelslitted with pneumatic tires, whereby lightness, stiffness, and strengthare secured in the frame of the wheel, greatly-increased resiliency inrunning over obstacles and improved wearing qualit-ies in the tire, andin thecombination of the Wheel and the tire the avoidaneotun'due draglgingand driving strains transmitted through the tire material and theability to get at, ex-

.-amine, and rep/air the interior wiyiont the i necessity of removingthe tire from tjr/e wheel.

It consists, essentially', in constructing the.

'tires with expanding or accordion-shaped `transmitting driving strainsdirect from the rim to the periphery or near it, so as not to .passthrough and distress the material of the tire. Y

It will be fully described With reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a side elevation of part of a. wheel, partly in section;Fig. 2, a transverse section of same on line a: Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a sideelevation of part of a wheel, partly in section, showing a modifiedarrangement of the invention; Fig. 4, ,a transverse section of Fig. 3;Fig. 5, a plan, partly in section, ofFig. 3; Fig. 6, a transversesection of Fig. 1 on li/ne y y, showing the flaps L and K; Fig. 7, a lanof under side of tireof Figs. l. :and 6, shotgllpg the opening H andlacing Z.

-The tire A' is constructed of anysuitable` flexible material capable ofcontaining air or vapor under pressure and strongnongh to resist a highdegree of pressure. It is shaped at the sides to what may be termedaccor- 5o :gies a, and the tire'when inlatedis of very `being effectedon the inside. The holes or im? 'much greater depth measured radiallythan is usual or than it is in width. The accordion-shaped sides o. workor move easily when compressed by passing over any obstacle on theroadwithout greatly extending or expanding laterally or in width. This formof cross-V section of tire is maintained and the sides of' seen red inposition by internal cross-ties B B',

tire.

The cross-ties li may be metal clips clamped into the interior of theangle a of the sides a', as in Fig. 2, or they maybe strips of flexiblematerial l3',sceured by cement or otherwise, as in Fig. 4. Thecross-ties B prevent lateral "ex'tenson'ol`- the tire under the pressureof compressed air.

At the bottom of the angle a. of the sides a flexible ring or cord ofsuitable material may be inserted, as in Fig. 2, and the internal staysor cross-ties B grip over these and se lcurely hold and connect thesides of the tire4 without piercing it.

To give stability to the tire and to transmit the driving force directto theperiphery or tread of the tire from the rim of the Wheel, theperiphery or tread of the tire is connected of the wheel. The ties D maybe in the form of sliding hollow` hars or rods passing down into theinterior of the spokes E', or theymay be in the form of tie-'pieces D',secured by F, Figs. 8, 4, and 5. Whenthe Wheel' meets a large obstacle,thestruts D slide up into the sockets E to'pass', and 'thus the'resiliency of vthe tire is not interfered with.

are connected by sleeves b to the cross-ties B, and the struts or tiesD' in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are connected to the cross-ties B by cement orother suitable means.

openings H, through which access may be had to the interior in order toplace thecross-ties B B andthe struts or ties D in place and t0 examineand repair an ypuncture, such repair which are placed at intervals andconnect the Y angle ct or apex of one side with that of the 60corresponding side at the opposite side of the by movable ties or strutsD or D with tie-rim 8o bolts orscrews d to the periphery of the rim Thesliding ties or struts Din Figs. 1 and 2 9o The tire may be made with anumber of openingsvII are of. considerable size and are closed byinternal fiaps K, which are held in position by the pressure of air.These iaps en'4 the exterior may be covered by otherfiaps L, held inposition by lacing Z or otherwise, s o

` that they are easily accessible.

" In the form shown inlgs. 1 'and 2 the wheel-rim is lmade of two ringsor'hoops lli, of

` steel or suitable materiaigplaced side by side.

ata convenient distance apart and secured to each other at intervals bya number of crosspieces N, to which they are firmly bolted or riveted.This construction of rim forms al number of spacesfm between the outerrings of the wheel-rim. The openings H and covering-Ilaps L of the tiresare placed over the,A spaces m ffthe rim| ,f,so that the tire vcan beopened, examined, and repaired without removing it from the wheel. Thetwo rings M are connected byspokes E with a central heb,

the spokes preferably engaging with the cross-blocks N; but vthey mayconnect vdirect with the rim, as in Figs. i to 5.

What we claim as our inventions'gand desire to protect by' LettersPatent, is

1. In a. pneumatic `wheel 'the-combination of a tire ofaccordion shapewith rentering side angles, cross-ties tc'give lateral stabilityrconnected to the side and tie-struts connected to the rim and theperiphery to transmit the driving stress substantially as described.

2. In a pneumatic wheel the combination. of the accordion tire withrentering Side amgies, the cross-tics connecting the sides the movabletiefstrms sliding in the spokes and the'hollow-ended spokessubstantially as den scribed. M j

3. In a pneumatic wheel the combination of the accordion'tire withrcntering side an gies, the eresaties connecting the sides the movabletie-struts slidingin the spokes thehollow-ended vspokes the blocks N towhich stantially as described.

4. In a pneumatic wheel the combination with the accord-ion tire withrentering sido angles and cross-'ties connecting the sides provided withopenings` H of the internal flaps K and the extern ai flaps Lsubstantially as described.

.5. In apnenmaticwhe'el theoombination with the accordion tire withvreenter-ing side angles and cross-ties connecting the sides pro'- videdwith openings H of the internal flaps ii. and the external, flaps Lthe'two hoops M and blocks N forming the rim and by which the tire issupported substantially asdescribed.

In witness whereof We have hereuntosivgned our naines in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

the spokes are attached and the two rings or f hoops M forming the 'rireof the wheel sub JonNnDWARD frnorm'ron.v l y JAMES POLLARD LEA.

Witnesses J. OWDEN OBRIEN, R. OVENDALE.

